Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $9,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 3,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 88.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 39,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,736,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,557 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 37,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,187,000 after buying an additional 3,012 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $190.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.35 and a 52 week high of $394.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $242.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.57.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.